My mare was a bit off last Friday (or Saturday?) at the trot. It wasn't very noticable. I went up to visit her again on Monday and it was a bit more consistant at the trot, but she was still walking even when we walked.

She needed her feet trimmed so I went ahead and jumped on board with the group that was getting their horses done today. She needed the trim and I wanted the farriers opinion.

I told the farrier what was going on and she said she was seeing a lot of abscesses (just today). She didn't want to see her move before the trim, so she trimmed her and then I lunged her.

She's now lamer. So much that she's gimping at the walk now. The farrier hoof tested her and she flinched a little but not drastically and she mentioned that she was a touch warmer on her coronet band on that foot. She said to wait and see if she becomes more tender on it, she could be brewing an abscess.

But who needs to wait? She's now lame at the walk. Not just off, but lame. I checked the trim job since I haven't seen the woman trim before (barn farrier) and it was awful. Just awful. So bad that I'm ashamed to post pictures of it. It looked like an amature hackjob and I can't believe I paid for it.

I'm so frustrated. Not only do I have to find a new farrier, but this farrier worsened her condition instead of helped her.

She told me that it will either go away in a few weeks or get worse (no, really?). If it gets worse, call her. But she didn't want to dig around searching for an abcsess when she didn't really know where it was since my mare didn't keel over when pressure tested.

She actually rasped her soles But didn't use the rasp to round off the hoof. Her feet are chipping already. A friend of mine said that she could be abscessing in a spot where the hoof tester didn't reach, and the trim might have exposed some previously bruised hoof.

Either way, I have to now go up and fix her feet. I took a farrier class a couple years ago but feel as though I'm too rusty to do my own horse's feet now. I've never done anything as bad as that trim job though...its an eye sore. I seriously could not believe she actually charges money for something like that...and I'm usually VERY forgiving when it comes to things like that.

She told me to ride her because the more I ride her, the more pressure the abscess will build and the sooner it would pop. I had reservations about doing it but I tacked her up. I couldn't go through with it though. She was gimping and it just felt wrong.

Looks like the farrier search is now on -_- Sorry for the rant. I was just so excited about getting the farrier out to see her opinion on my mare's hoof and it wasn't just a let-down, it was a catastrophy.

I have some pictures of her feet before the trim but none after...I was too shocked and embarressed. I may take pictures after I clean the mess up though.

I had a horse go navicular on me a number of years ago and so I'm extremely paranoid about it. The farrier said that she didn't have navicular looking feet, but now I'm not sure how much I can trust her. My horse gets ridden maybe once every two weeks and its never for very long. She hasn't broken a sweat since September.

Neither of her parents had the disease, but I know theres no actual disease. Its more of a condition and many things can cause it.

I do think its an abscess, with my paranoid thoughts of navicular creeping around in the background. I've ruled out thrush. I was very disheartened when the pressure tester didn't bring up anything definite.

I'll be soaking her foot in some epsom salts to try and draw it out. Hopefully it is what I want it to be and it'll come to a head soon.

Yes it is. I can understand you're upset but respectfully, what you've said sounds more emotional than objective. So my response to you may sound 'a bit rantish' too, as I'm afraid I get rather frustrated with this sort of attitude.

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My mare was a bit off last Friday (or Saturday?) at the trot. It wasn't very noticable. ... but she was still walking even when we walked.

Horses are typically stoic creatures & if lameness is obvious, it's usually something substantial - barring a stone stuck in the hoof or such. They can often be lame at higher paces but not obviously so at a walk.

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She's now lamer. So much that she's gimping at the walk now. The farrier hoof tested her and she flinched a little but not drastically and she mentioned that she was a touch warmer on her coronet band on that foot. She said to wait and see if she becomes more tender on it, she could be brewing an abscess.

Sounds to me, without further info, that what the farrier did/said could have been entirely reasonable in that regard. If horses are abscessing in your area frequently lately, I'd consider the weather may be the culprit. Obviously without further info, only a guess tho.

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But who needs to wait? She's now lame at the walk. Not just off, but lame. I checked the trim job since I haven't seen the woman trim before (barn farrier) and it was awful. Just awful. So bad that I'm ashamed to post pictures of it.

What did you expect her to do about it there & then?? As a rule(there are exceptions) I don't think digging for abscesses is necessarily for the best, particularly when it sounds like it was rather obscure at the time of her visit.

She may indeed have done a terrible job of trimming, or it may be that your perception of good trimming incorrect, or different to hers at least - there are different opinions on that. Without any pictures even, we can't even give you a rough opinion on that tho. But this is why it also pays to be educated yourself & be particular about which 'experts' you get to do the job. Were you not present & watching when she trimmed? Did you ask her why she did/didn't do certain things you think she should have.

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I'm so frustrated. Not only do I have to find a new farrier, but this farrier worsened her condition instead of helped her.

Abscesses do tend to get worse before they go away. Without far more info I wouldn't jump to blame even a bad trimmer for that.

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She actually rasped her soles

While as a rule, rasping into sole is not generally a good move, there are exceptions, such as when there is obviously excess unexfoliated sole for eg.

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Either way, I have to now go up and fix her feet. I took a farrier class a couple years ago but feel as though I'm too rusty to do my own horse's feet now. I've never done anything as bad as that trim job though...its an eye sore. I seriously could not believe she actually charges money for something like that... and I'm usually VERY forgiving when it comes to things like that.

*Assuming* the farrier has indeed trimmed the hooves too short, without further info, barring a light 'mustang roll', even if you were an experienced trimmer, I wouldn't advise you attempt much/any 'fixing' until her feet grow some. If you've only done 'a farrier class' years ago & being admittedly 'rusty', I'd find a good farrier/trimmer to do any 'fixing' anyway.

Respectfully, I can well understand owners being ill informed about hoof care generally, so not understanding whether a farrier does a good/bad/indifferent job, but I can't understand someone professing to know better being so 'forgiving' about standards & who they choose to do the work, let alone being so upset with THE TRIMMER for doing a bad job. If I employed(& paid) someone who did a shocking job, it would be ME that I was horrified at.

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She told me to ride her because the more I ride her, the more pressure the abscess will build and the sooner it would pop. I had reservations about doing it but I tacked her up.

Why did you go & do that, at least without a second, respected opinion?? I strongly disagree with forcing a horse to exercise when they're hurting, unless under veterinary advice, but I do believe *encouraging* movement, if the horse is up to it, is indeed good to bring abscesses to a head. There are other specifics that would affect just how I'd deal with it too though.

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I have some pictures of her feet before the trim but none after...I was too shocked and embarressed. I may take pictures after I clean the mess up though.

It would be interesting to see pictures, both before & after, & there are a number of good people here that could give you more to go on, but if you want any kind of opinion on the trim job, you need to provide afters of that too, before you change anything.

I never said I knew better than the farrier. I said I have never seen a worse job. I feel I am fairly forgiving when it comes to these things because I have allowed apprentice farriers to practice on my horses before since they were never under heavy riding. I understand they are still learning and I allowed them to practice. For someone who has their own business, the job was horrible. I can assure you that.

She told me to ride her and I tacked her up. I never said I rode her.

I'm just generally frustrated that my mare didn't show obvious signs of anything. And my frustration grew when I saw the trim job. I wasn't watching the trim because this particular farrier and my mare had gone at odds with eachother before and I was busy keeping the horse under control.

I do think its an abscess. I did not want her to blindly dig for an abscess. This is my frustration that the abscess (if it is one) is causing the horse discomfort while traveling, but it couldn't be pin pointed with a pressure test.

This is the first time I have seen this particular farrier work. The BO assured me she was very good, and so I expected a decent job on the trim. Unfortunately, I haven't been out to witness it before because when I got my mare, I was in a situation where I wasn't able to see her. The BO took care of things and sent me the bill accordingly. Now that I've seen the work, I'll be searching for someone different.

I'm a bit calmer now than what I was before and know that my frustration lies in my horse's lameness, and my expectations of the visit weren't what I thought they'd be. It was a general "let down" sort of day. The other people at the barn seem to like her work and that's fine. I won't be telling them any differently.

I'm heading up to soak my mare's foot tomorrow, so I will get pictures of it.

Cant comment on the trim without pictures but I will give you my opinion on abscesses.

Don't ride a lame abscessing horse. That just cruel. That's like being made to hike with an infected ingrown toenail. Whoever recommended that ought to have to hike with an infected ingrown toenail O.o

Do soak in epsoms and wrap the foot (up over the coronet) with a diaper full of Icthammol wrapped in duct tape so the horse can walk around in it so everything stays soft. Do this every other day and let the foot naked the day in between. Too much soaking will actually hinder blowing the abscess by softening the hoof capsule and not forcing it up and out. Yet the drawing salves and soaking really can help comfort the horse and soften the blowout area. I think its best to alternate days and leave the hoof naked to harden in between so you get the best of both worlds. Its a coaxing process sometimes and you have to make judgement calls.

DO turn said abscessing horse out with other horses in a large area so the horse will move on its own or be encouraged to move by its buddies. This is a good time to utilize a young annoying horse that always wants to play or a cranky old boss mare who will herd the other one around a bit.

Don't give bute in the early stages so the abscess can form properly and come to a head so to speak. Do give bute at the end stage or after a good 7 days or so if it hasnt popped yet and see if it encourages the horse to really get moving around and pop it on its own. If it doesnt help after a couple days, stop the bute as the abscess may be deep and large and buting will only hinder progress. Its best to only use it if you are pretty certain the thing is about to blow to encourage the horse to use the foot and force it to go.

Don't let the farrier carve them out of the sole if you can help it. Best they blow out the top hopefully.

That is the way it sounded. Like I said, I get your frustration tho - why most of us 'trimmers' get into the job in the first place IME. Just trying to put it into perspective.

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The other people at the barn seem to like her work and that's fine. I won't be telling them any differently.

Yes, as there are so many owners(& professionals) who don't have a clue, I find that recommendations don't tend to count for much at all, unless you know & respect the amount of knowledge of the people doing the recommending.

Just wanted to ask a quick question: So, it is better to let the abscess blow out the top than to dig it out?

I wish I had known that. My vet recently dug out an abscess she said that was discovered 2 days before most are found. I thought that a weird thing to say. But there was just a little clear liquid coming out of a crack in the bottom of the hoof. It wasn't pus. My horse was very painful but it was hard to tell from where. She had colic as well. My vet said from the pain. She gave her bannamine. Told me to stall rest for 1 week and then hand walk only. I had to replace the diaper/duct tape boot in 48 hours and then every 48 for another week. At the change of my first boot, so 4 days later there was blood in the diaper. I called both the vet and the "farrier" at the time and both told me I probably either wrapped to tight (which I don't do) or that I cut her when removing the old wrap (which I didin't do).

Sorry to chime in here, but just wanted to share what happened with my horse and agree that it isn't good to ride them if they are hurting and I am glad you didn't ride your horse.

I also was wanting be sure of the abscess information from trinity because I was under the impression that it was some horrible neglect thing if the abscess blows out the coronet band. I am not trying to insult or anything here. I really just don't know.

I was not happy with my horses "pre abscess" being dug out and neither was my horse.

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